Former Alberta justice minister Jonathan Denis denied appeal for contempt of court
CTV
The Court of Appeal of Alberta has denied an appeal by former justice minister Jonathan Denis to stay contempt of court proceedings.
The Court of Appeal of Alberta has denied an appeal by former justice minister Jonathan Denis to stay contempt of court proceedings.
Denis was found in contempt of court last month for threatening to sue a plaintiff in the middle of her testimony in a civil trial.
Justice Doreen Sulyma ruled a letter sent on Denis' behalf was an attempt to intimidate Dr. Anny Sauvageau while she was on the witness stand in her $7.5 million lawsuit against the Alberta government.
Sulyma said in her decision that the letter made Sauvageau fearful of testifying plainly and honestly, prompted another witness to beg off testifying at all and raised the spectre of a mistrial in a complex hearing following years of pre-trial litigation.
Denis is not a defendant in the lawsuit however, he was justice minister at the time of the allegations being fought over in court.
Denis appealed on the notion the contempt finding caused "irreparable harm" to his reputation, however Justice Ritu Khullar wrote in the decision released Monday the harm had not been established.
Read the ruling below:
